To ensure end users of software products, be they web site or applications, have an experience that is effective, efficient and satisfying, Oshyn follows industry best practices for user-centered design to ensure usability. Here are some of the types of activities we typically discuss with clients depending on their unique sites / applications, in order to achieve these outcomes.
Planning
- Conduct kickoff and planning meeting
- Identify key stakeholders and roles
Analysis
- Interview stakeholders/sponsors regarding site strategy, purpose, goals
- Identify success (effective, efficient, satisfying) and return on investment goals and metrics
- Identify or develop branding for Web site
- Identify user group types/personas
- Interview representative users
- Conduct user task analysis and prioritize tasks
- Write scenarios describing representative instances of use
- Conduct heuristic evaluation or usability testing of current site
- Perform competitive analysis
- Conduct a content inventory of online or applicable offline materials
- Conduct an assets inventory for graphic intensive sites
- Review of existing data from or about users (e.g., Web analytics, user surveys, previous usability activities)
- Review of usability research literature and best practice as needed
- Conduct of unique research as needed to support design
- Identify accessibility requirements
- Identify internationalization requirements
Design
- Conduct parallel design (separate teams design based on analysis and then compare)
- Develop information architecture (organization of contents)
- Conduct card sorting or reverse card sorting ("where would you click?")
- Develop navigation design (movement through site)
- Engage in prototyping of high-level pages starting with homepage (important and/or reusable page types)
- Engage in rapid prototyping of detailed page designs including interaction design
- Conduct "writing for the Web" training, provide examples, or provide content writing
- Conduct creative brief for graphical treatment and visual design
Testing
- Conduct heuristic evaluation of new designs
- Conduct usability testing of wireframe prototypes
- Develop test plan including goals and questions
- Develop screener and recruit representative participants
- Write representative test questions or tasks for users to answer/attempt
- Conduct testing in an objective manner — no leading the witness or helping for summative testing
- Collect user task success rate data and qualitative information
- Analyze data and information and develop recommendations for improvements
- Conduct usability testing at later stages of design or development as needed
- Perform data analysis of user task performance before and after redesign as appropriate
Documentation
- Document page schematics (for developers)
- Document detailed interface functional specification (for developers, especially those out of house)
- Page layout
- Use of color
- Typography
- Use of functional graphics
- Web controls and interaction
- Error handling and feedback
- Develop style guide (for ad agencies, artists)
- Write editorial guide (for writers)
Ongoing
- Monitor Web and related performance metrics
- Conduct user surveys
- Redo user-centered design process when major changes to site occur
Want to talk to a User Experience Design expert about how Oshyn minimizes risk and delivers ROI? Call (888) 483-1770 or email newbusiness@oshyn.com.